HootSuite faces online backlash over unpaid internships

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Often heralded as Vancouver’s most successful tech startup, Hootsuite attracted uncharacteristically negative attention online this weekend as criticism mounted on social media networks over the company’s use of unpaid interns.

The firestorm started Friday as a post decrying the practice as exploitative and potentially illegal under the provincial labour code soon began attracting hundreds of comments on the popular news and entertainment site Reddit.

By Friday night, original poster Ryl had added a series of screenshots detailing the company’s scrubbing of its website in response to the ongoing backlash from tech-savvy users.

The reddit thread alleges Hootsuite removed all reference to the lack of pay for eight internship opportunities in the careers section of its website.

Gone was the paragraph asking potential interns to commit to three months of work “Monday to Friday with core hours of 9 a.m. -5 p.m. and that the role is unpaid.”

A link was also posted to a 2011 guest post with Hootsuite’s community marketing director Dave Olson, where he states the company’s interns are never asked to get coffee but are almost always unpaid.

“Opinions throughout the industry differ on this point, but it’s your choice to make. Just ensure you are clear about the terms from the beginning,” the post states. “If you don’t have budget, let them know and explain the types for benefits they’ll receive from their efforts: Internships are valuable learning experiences and a great way to get a foot in the door of competitive industries.”

“Since your Interns are non-paid, you want to ensure you provide some career assistance when they need it,” the post goes on to say. “This starts with a LinkedIn recommendation and well-thought-out letter.

“Plus send a Tweet publicly to thank them and recommend them to other companies and offer yourself as a reference for jobs.”

“Recently, I learned about some concerns that a few of our internship job postings may not be in compliance with the local laws,” Holmes wrote. “I appreciate those who have taken the time to bring this to our attention and we will immediately review this internally.

“When we created the internship program, I believed we were doing the right thing by offering the opportunity for young people to add experience to their resume and join a Vancouver success story. If we learn these internships are not compliant, we will fix it.”

The statement added that over half of the interns in the past year went on to full-time paid positions at the company.

“Our legal review indicates that no more than 15 (of) HootSuite’s interns in the past twelve months may be affected by the unpaid internship guidelines and will be reviewed by our team,” Holmes wrote at the end of the statement. “As I have always been a strong part of our local technology industry, I am committed to find a solution that is fair for everyone involved.”

In British Columbia, an internship is defined by law as “on-the-job training offered by an employer to provide a person with practical experience.”

“Often internships are offered to persons who have completed a diploma or degree program and are seeking employment,” says an online government guide to the Employment Standards Act and Regulations. “Completing an internship does not itself result in an academic certificate or diploma.

“An apprentice is being trained while working for an employer and as such is performing work and must be paid wages.”

These wages must be at least $10.25 an hour, B.C.’s minimum wage, and an intern must be paid the same wages and benefits a normal employee would receive for doing the identical job.

The act differentiates internships from practicums, which are part of a formal education process and don’t necessarily have to be paid.

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